Caring for children's teeth

How to take care of your baby’s teeth?

It is necessary to start the child with the right hygienic oral care skills from an early age. Many factors can affect the health and formation of the oral cavity of the mouth long before the first teeth are cut. For example, the common antibiotic tetracycline causes a change and a loss in the natural color of the teeth.

For this reason, they are not recommended for use during breastfeeding and during the second and third trimester of pregnancy.

The first milk teeth usually appear at the age of about six months, so infants do not need the usual oral care procedures – cleaning with a toothbrush and a floss. However, babies also have special needs for oral hygiene, which every parent needs to know. They include the prevention of early childhood caries (the so-called “bottle caries”) and the satisfaction of the need for developing teeth of the child in sufficient amounts of fluoride.

What is early childhood caries and how to prevent it?

Early infant caries develops with frequent and excessive consumption of sugar-containing liquids by the infant. These include milk, milk mixtures and fruit juices. If a child falls asleep with a bottle containing sweet, he has in his mouth liquids containing sugar, which can lead to caries, formed initially on the upper and lower incisors. Therefore, never put a child in a crib with a bottle of milk or juice. Instead, fill the bottle with plain water or replace it with the pacifier recommended by your dentist. If you are breastfeeding, do not allow prolonged feeding or falling asleep during feeding. After each feeding, wipe the teeth and gums of the baby with a soft damp cloth or gauze compress.

What is fluorine and how to check that the child receives it in sufficient quantity?

Fluoride is useful for the health of baby teeth even before they appear. It helps to create stronger tooth enamel on children’s teeth at the stage of formation. If your drinking water is fluoridated, then it usually contains a sufficient amount of fluoride for proper development of the teeth. You can find out if your water is fluoridated and in what quantities by calling the local water service. If drinking water at your place of residence is not fluoridated or does not contain enough fluoride, ask your dentist or pediatrician to prescribe fluoride drops for daily intake by a baby. If you use bottled water for drinking and cooking, be sure to inform the pediatrician and dentist about it. They can prescribe fluoride supplements for daily intake of babies.

Birth

After the baby was born, it is important to monitor hygiene. First of all, dear parents, you should not transfer your bacteria to the child (Streptococcus mutans), which, according to one of the theories, cause caries. At the time of birth, the oral cavity of the baby is practically free of bacteria. They settle there only in the first months of life. If the parents or someone caring for the baby have bacteria in the oral cavity, and when feeding the baby they lick the child’s spoon or the nipple that has fallen to the floor, these bacteria can get into the mouth of the child, he also gets tooth decay. So, please, supervise yourself:

  • do not lick the baby’s spoon while feeding it
  • sterilize the nipple that has fallen to the floor
  • try to tidy your tooth decay.

And then the oral cavity of the child will remain free of caries longer.

The first teeth

When the tooth is erupted, the gum in the place of its future appearance becomes inflamed and becomes painful, how to help the child in such cases:

1. Periodically massage the gums at the site of the tooth’s eruption. This will eliminate the itching and will act soothingly on the baby, and not least because he will feel your attention to him.
2. Give the child a tooth ring made of synthetic material. When he chews, the child for a while weakens blood supply, and the painful place is as if deafened, the pain subsides (the tooth rings are regularly cleaned!). A similar analgesic effect is achieved with a bread crust or a piece of carrots that are large enough so that the child does not choke.
3. You can give the child also a ring filled with chilled liquid. Therefore, when your child’s teeth erupt, you should always have such tooth rings ready. Cooling is especially useful when the baby’s gums get inflamed.
4. If you have a medical appointment, you can also use pain-reducing drugs, either in liquid form or in the form of a gel. Such funds, applied to the painful areas of the baby’s gums with the help of a finger, contain local anesthetics (local anesthesia) in very small doses.

Food

To prevent the emergence or development of caries, it is necessary to organize the nutrition of the family competently. In the diet of the child must be present calcium from dairy products. This is not difficult at all, because children’s yoghurts, milk and yogurt are becoming more delicious and diverse.

In order for calcium to be better absorbed, vitamin D is required, which is contained in fish dishes and is formed under the influence of sun rays. So often take with the baby sunbathing, go for walks, strengthening not only the teeth, but also friendship in the family. In addition to calcium for the prevention of caries, fluoride is needed, which is enriched with toothpaste and certain foods.

 

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